India cricket team chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained the rationale behind leaving out Sarfaraz Khan from the squad for England Tests. The Mumbai cricketer, who was gearing up to return to action from injury, did not find a spot in the 18-member team that was finalized on Saturday. Instead, Karun Nair returned to the Test team after nearly 7 years.
Agarkar explains why Sarfaraz was snubbed
Addressing a press conference, Agarkar pointed out that Sarfaraz’s form had slumped following his century against New Zealand. He explained that it was a decision taken by the team management. The chief selector also justified the inclusion of Karun, stating that the team needed someone with the experience of having played in England in the absence of Virat Kohli.
“Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test (against New Zealand) and then didn’t get runs. Sometimes these are decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we’re lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help,” Agarkar said.
Sarfaraz was hopeful of getting a spot in the Indian squad for England Tests. He even lost 10 kgs by following a strict diet in preparation for the upcoming series. However, he has been snubbed.
Sarfaraz made his long-awaited Test debut against England in 2024. He went on to play six Tests in the same year before a rib injury in Australia left him sidelined for months.
India squad for England series
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal. KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
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